Cambodia Day 4, The Finish Line

The final day has come, 70K of cycling planned, on road, off road, through the jungle, deep puddles and sand!
Today was always going to be a special day because it would be the last time we, as a team, get to cycle together on the awesome trip, that has seen, so many ups and downs, but has always been brilliant, we had no idea what to expect and as always, it was a day to remember.
The usual strict 6am breakfast (shouldn't have stayed up late last night!!!!!!), the coach, took us to the edge of of the Jungle and we got to cycle through it, to get us to the famous Jungle Temple, as seen in Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones

After a quick water break and when I say water, i mean one or two fell in a massive puddle, trying to get through, that gave everyone some fantastic photos or video, we then got to the official water stop, parked our bikes and headed off, with our guides to the temple

And to say the temple is breathtaking, would be an understatement

Once we left the Jungle Temple, it was all about the cycling, much of which was on single track sand, something many people were not used to and we had quite a few falls and no one got hurt, they were more of tips than falls, we were heading for the finish line, something we only dreamed about when we got here on our first day, back in Ho Chi Minh City, before we became 'Team Extreme'

This was the first day, my camera battery seemed to drain really fast and the first day i forgot to bring a spare, so i decided the important thing now was the finish photos.
During the previous evening some of the team had come up with a brilliant way of raising extra money for Alzheimers by staging a 'filmed' race between a selected number of people from all levels of cycling and two places were left unfilled, so that you could bid money for a place, it was decided between a few of us that we would also 'pool' our bids to get Andy (group leaded) in the race, so when the announcement was made, one very generous bid of $100 was made, plus another $250 for Andy to race (he kindly added another $25), but this was to be no ordinary race (why would we ever think otherwise), this was to be a handicap 400 metre sprint, between some very, very good cyclist and a load of us, one of the cyclists was Mr Lucky, one of the crew and one of the best cyclists in Cambodia, but 400 meters in 1st gear, makes it a very funny race, it was like extreme spinning in 40 degrees! But Mr Lucky spun to victory.
After that it was, 14K to the finish, I set off with one of the leaders (Cambodia's number 2 cyclist) and 3 of the others and boy did we push it hard for the full 13K.
With only 1K to go we all got together whilst the leaders went on to put up the banner, girls in the front, boys at the back so we could all cycle in together for one last time and with the exception of one crash between a number of the girls, we all crossed the line as the team we had become.
And the tears flowed, the hugs started and we were the happiest bunch in Cambodia, we had just completed a epic journey, through two beautiful countries and between us, raised over £100,000 for Alzheimers

So that was that, some of us headed back to the hotel to chill, some went to another temple and we all met up later for a party and boy did we party!

But that wasn't the end of the night, we were up, it was late, sunrise would be in a couple of hours and where best to see it other than at the Angkor Wat Temples, so we hired tut tut's and headed off to sit with hundreds of people and just watch

Cambodia Day 3, Angkor Wat

Yesterday was a day which tested each and everyone of us, both mentally and physically, but it was also a day that made us stronger as a team and gave us the believe, that we could get through this, but the challenge would not be over until, the last person crossed that line in Siem Reap.
Breakfast was slighty later, as we would be jumping on the coach to take us up the road to a road side cafe where we ate last night, not a great place, which also went for the hotel we slept in last night, but we all decided, it was the kind of place we thought we would be in every night, basically we had been spoiled!
Today would be a chance to rest our legs, catch some rays and as always, see some amazing sights.
One we left breakfast we headed for the harbour to catch a boat that would take us over the largest expance of fresh water in south asia for 4hrs, we got there early enough to wander about, look at the local food market and meet some more of this countries wonderful kids and little did we know the wonders that would await us the other side (the 8th wonder to be precise) Angkor Wat!!!

The boat trip, was fast, hot, cramped, but you could walk about the outside of the boat and sunbathe up on top!

On our arrival we headed to the coach that took us to our bikes, we were only cycling 10K maximum today, but wow, what a 10K it would be, once we got to Angkor Wat we had to get photo passes, which would allow us access to Angkor and all its temples. We started out cycling through the beautiful tree lined roads, along with the cars, cycles and of course tuc tuc's which buzz about everywhere in asia, as always we kept stopping wherever and whenever we wanted for photos, but for the first time we were asked not to, as there would be plenty of chances to take photos and we were on a tight deadline to get in to the 2 temples, but when i saw my first elephant carrying people, i had to take my chances although i did ride straight past the monkeys

We finished the day off by watching the sun set from within the temple grounds, before being transfered to our hotel, which will be our home for 2 nights

We finished the day by going out to eat at what i can only describe as a tree house, then on to Pub Street for a well earned drink

Cambodia Day 3, Angkor Wat

Yesterday was a day which tested each and everyone of us, both mentally and physically, but it was also a day that made us stronger as a team and gave us the believe, that we could get through this, but the challenge would not be over until, the last person crossed that line in Siem Reap.
Breakfast was slighty later, as we would be jumping on the coach to take us up the road to a road side cafe where we ate last night, not a great place, which also went for the hotel we slept in last night, but we all decided, it was the kind of place we thought we would be in every night, basically we had been spoiled!
Today would be a chance to rest our legs, catch some rays and as always, see some amazing sights.
One we left breakfast we headed for the harbour to catch a boat that would take us over the largest expance of fresh water in south asia for 4hrs, we got there early enough to wander about, look at the local food market and meet some more of this countries wonderful kids and little did we know the wonders that would await us the other side (the 8th wonder to be precise) Angkor Wat!!!

The boat trip, was fast, hot, cramped, but you could walk about the outside of the boat and sunbathe up on top!

On our arrival we headed to the coach that took us to our bikes, we were only cycling 10K maximum today, but wow, what a 10K it would be, once we got to Angkor Wat we had to get photo passes, which would allow us access to Angkor and all its temples. We started out cycling through the beautiful tree lined roads, along with the cars, cycles and of course tuc tuc's which buzz about everywhere in asia, as always we kept stopping wherever and whenever we wanted for photos, but for the first time we were asked not to, as there would be plenty of chances to take photos and we were on a tight deadline to get in to the 2 temples, but when i saw my first elephant carrying people, i had to take my chances although i did ride straight past the monkeys

We finished the day off by watching the sun set from within the temple grounds, before being transfered to our hotel, which will be our home for 2 nights

We finished the day by going out to eat at what i can only describe as a tree house, then on to Pub Street for a well earned drink

Cambodia day 2, Cycling as a TEAM

Another very early start and another 1hr coach ride to get us out of the city and to a suitable place to be greeted by our new bikes and fill up our water (little did we know just how much we would need today!!!)

Today was all about the cycling, it was going to be, long, hot, dusty and mainly off road, it was always going to be a day to pull together as a team and simply get everyone over that finish line.

Water stops were more a welcolme sight today than any other day, we were burning so much energy in the extreme heat and the dust from the roads, were making us drink constantly, it wasn't unusual to drink 2ltrs of water every 20K and at least a litre at the water stop itself.

Between stops today, i decided to sit near the back of the group and take it all in, well that was until Andy (the group leader) came along side me and said "fancy a burn" so that was that, we got down low on the handle bars and went for it, flying down the dusty track until we were at the front of the group, we sat there for about 10 mins at a steady pace, then me, him and two others, Mark (king of the mountain) and Gary Foord went again with Nak, one of the support riders, I managed to keep up for 10/15 mins but my legs gave up, so Gary and I dropped off and caught up with them at the lunch stop.

Lunch today was a Cambodian pack lunch, it came in a small basket and contained, fish, meat, rice, potato which were all wrapped in banana leave, a little pot of sweet and sour veg, a sweet spring roll and fruit

After lunch it was back on the road for another 20K through beautiful Cambodian country side, the roads were dusty and full of huge potholes, but you simply don't notice (unless you look down and notice your leg is a terracota colour)

The next part of our journey would take us to what is called the bamboo train because it used to be made of bamboo, it no longer is, but boy its fun!! And as usual we were greeted by lots of lovely kids.

But the best part was the train took us to a small lake where we all dived in for a swim.

After this it was back on the bikes with about 40K to go and still very very hot, many people at this point were suffering with the heat and the distance and some of the cyclist sat back with the guys who were finding it tough to get them to the finish, I rode with Alison and we had some fantastic conversations about our families and how we ended up signing up for something like this and it turned out that this was the start of Alison's journey, in a similar way to its the end of a 18 month journey for me, from deciding to lose weight, back in July 2011until now, cycling across South Vietnam and up in to Cambodia and being part of a team of people, who are all willing to help each other achieve their own personal goals.

Alison and I were very happy to see the hotel and drink a beer to celebrate our 100K achievement

Cambodia, Day 1 - Getting in

I suppose for people of my age (44) Cambodia means the country that suffered terrible starvation when i was growing up and was all over the news for that reason alone, where Vietnam was the place the Americans fought, I am now begining to understand much more about both these wonderful countries.

We left the hotel at 6:30am sharp, travelled 15 mins on the coach and boarded a small (but very fast) boat, which would take us through the Vietnam boarder control and on to the Cambodia passport control and on to our first port of call in Cambodia.

The Vietnam passport control was a nice little place, money could be exchanged and food bought, Cambodia was what you might call poorer and full of military who were as corrupt as they come if your visa isn't perfect!!

Passport control shed

Our first beer in Cambodia thanks to Paul Briddon

Once we arrived in to the port of Phnom Penh, we were quickly transfered to our hotel, the Goldiana Hotel, which is very nice and my room mate and i have a great room, 30 mins for a quick freshen up, then it was down to sort the bikes out ready for tomorrow, before being wipped off in the coach to S21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the prison used for torture 17000 people (only 7 known survivors) during the genocide and finally the killing fields where the tortured were taken to be murdered by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot

I really can't put in to words how seeing what i'm about to show you made me feel, other than;

"How can one human being, do this to another human being"

So as a mark of respect to the thousands that were brutally tortured and murdered, this blog now becomes a silent blog, the pictures tell the story...................

Vietnam Day 5, emotional

www.justgiving.com/ian-golden-2012

Vietnam, Cambodia, Alzheimer's, Cycling, Challenge, Plumbase, ViessmannDay 5 of the cycling began in the same way every other day has................. Early!
But this time with the threat of a tropical rain storm

The TEAM, as always its early but everyone's in good spirits

Once again it was deemed to dangerous to cycle out of the city, so we boarded the coaches that would take us to a start point where we would start our 95K trek through southern Vietnam and would get us near the border of Cambodia.
Whilst we were on the coaches the storm started and boy when it rains here, it rains! so much so the our crew from Vietnam decided it would be best if we all wore ponchos and the support motor bike rider was sent off to buy 30

Getting covered up before cycling the first 20K

We cycled through the storm and actually loved every second of it, it was fun, it cooled the air a little and many people said it was like being a kid, being allowed to ride through huge puddles without being told off!!

By the time we got to our 20K water stop, the rains had eased back and the heat of the sun started to come through.

During this water stop, Catherine our Alzheimers events leader asked us all to stop and have a minutes silence to remember the reason we are taking on this huge challenge and to remember the person who you may know now or from the past that has suffered from Alzheimers, but not to remember the illness, remember the person.
This sparked a lot of emotion in the group and it was great to be there to not only be supported, but to be able to put an arm round others and support them

REMEMBER THE PERSON, NOT THE ILLNESS

At this point most people took off their rain gear and dried out cycling the next leg, which took us through some beautiful Vietnam country side, with kids running out of their homes to shout "hello" then giggle when you shouted hello back

Cycling through villages and boats carring tractors

Lunch as always was welcome and excellent, but today included frog and the best urinals i've ever seen, it was also a good chance for essential maintance on the bikes my gears were sliiping bad and we had the hill climbs to come.

Graham Fisher or Fish in a basket.

Urinals, or a window in to the river!

Dinner, or Frog (tried it, didn't like it)

After lunch we headed towards the mountains and the Vietnam Killing fields, the next emotional part of our day.

Heading for the hills

The Killing Fields of Vietnam in Ba Chuc, where thousands were slaughtered many of them whilst in the temple itself

Its horrible to think that one human can do this to another

When we left the temple, we were on the final leg of the days cycling and the final leg in Vietnam, which would have been emotional, but we had some big hill climbs and some fast downhills to come and any cyclist reading this knows, thats fun, thats why we do this.
A handful of us were keen to 'race' it and thats my weakness, challenge, competive and the need for adreniline rushes, so we headed off towards the mountain climbs and Mr Hun our guide picked up the pace for those of us who wanted it and before we knew it, we were dipping down low and powering through the villages and up the hills and it wasn't long before it became a race, i stayed low behind Mr Hun but could feel my thighs burning, but there was no chance i was giving up, Mr Hun asked me to take the lead which i did and had a quick look behind me, i could only see 2 others at this stage, we continued like this for 10 mins or so, then suddenly Mark came past me on the steep section and pulled away, I had nothing to attack him with and his lead was soon 200 metres and the downhill section was so fast and so dangerous with people, cattle, mopeds and pot holes, catching him was a no no!!!!

Mark Seal, King of the mountains

Ian Golden, 2nd

Gary Foord, 3rd

The finish line

And that was that, we had cycled 283k through the beautiful country of Vietnam, we had seen things you can only see on a bike or treking and we have met some wonderful people, so it was time for beer, hugs and laughter................ and emotions, which continued in to the evening

The final part of today's emotional rollercoaster was saying goodbye to most of our Vietnam team, drivers, guides, water stop guys and of course the guys that keep our bikes on the road

The TEAM

Tomorrow we start at 6am for breakfast then its a short coach ride to get a 5hr boat to Cambodia......................